April 20, 2020 • 12 mins
We're all unique, so why shouldn't our characters be unique too? Today, we're going to dive into the basics of making characters their own individuals!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
On Wednesdays we wear pink, lions and tigers and bears.
(00:08):
Oh my, you ain't never had a friend like me.
My name is Ken Mears.
And I'm Melissa Fales.
Welcome to Writer's World.
(00:36):
The first question we want to address today is, how do I make each character unique?
From the Arts and Crafts of Storytelling, a comprehensive guide to classical writing
techniques, which is a mouthful, by Nancy Lamb, she says, quote, there are endless ways
to flesh out a character.
One way to create multiple dimensions in the person who inhabits the pages of your book
(01:01):
is to imagine a different aspect of that character's inner and outer life.
She points out some key aspects.
Body language.
How does your character carry themselves?
Does he stand up straight, make eye contact, have a limp handshake, walk as if defeated
with slumped shoulders, glide gracefully down hallways, trip and fall often?
(01:23):
Clothes.
How does your character dress?
Casual, trendy, sloppy, formal.
Does he take pride in his appearance?
Does he spend money on clothes?
Names.
Does your character have a nickname?
If so, what does that nickname reflect?
Her appearance, circumstance, personality, does she like or hate her nickname?
(01:45):
If she's married, did she take her spouse's name?
Dislikes.
What repulses and irritates your character?
Cool music, rude drivers.
When a character dislikes something, it is a really exciting element to me because there's
a lot that you can do with that.
What triggers them?
What switches their personality?
(02:06):
She goes on to say that identifying their home, shelter, family constellations, best
friends, interests, favorites, hobbies, and origins really help make your character unique.
So Ken, how does one make their character unique?
By making them quite simply human.
When we look at people around us, when we really see people for who they are, we see
(02:28):
that everyone is unique.
When it comes to constructing a character, I would suggest a few key things to include.
First of all, personality.
Personality includes everything from mannerisms to characteristics like how kind or smart
they are and their behaviors.
Make sure each personality is unique even if they are similar.
You can have multiple goofballs, but make something about their personalities distinct
(02:50):
enough that they don't blend perfectly together.
The next thing I would consider is a character's past.
There is lots of wiggle room in this one because everyone is guaranteed to have a unique past,
even if there are similar things in their backstories.
There will always have been different people, different events, and different scars a person
(03:10):
has.
And always remember, the past helps shape personality.
One more thing I would consider is how they look.
Having distinct visual differences can be very important.
One way is how their body looks.
Now I don't mean just having different hair and skin colors.
When making a unique body, there will be things that set them apart such as wrinkles, scars,
(03:31):
funny shape of their nose, etc.
You can also make sure that they dress quite uniquely.
And remember that how they dress may have a lot of factors including personality and
background.
Very true.
A common problem in writing is writing characters that are similar to you.
If someone is struggling to make their characters unique, I would recommend basing your characters
(03:55):
off of someone in your real life.
Another idea of writing characters outside yourself comes from Becky Bogast, who said
to quote, give your characters quirks.
What makes them a person and a character individual are their unique little habits and mannerisms.
(04:16):
It's usually best to choose a quirk that exemplifies and magnifies a trait of your
characters.
She continues that my dad, though a highly intelligent and rational human being, is a
complete conspiracy theorist.
Brandon Sanderson said in one of his lectures that limitations are more interesting than
(04:36):
powers.
Focusing on these quirks, wackiness, traits, limitations, and how they react to them is
how someone could write outside of themselves.
Another idea is to take a look at the 16 Meijer-Briggs personality types, which will be listed out
in the show notes.
The Meijer-Briggs personality test is a system of different characters.
(05:01):
You could pick out a personality and follow it using the Meijer-Briggs personality types
as a guide.
Also, you could write a typical archetype.
This idea came from the Writing Cooperation website, where they point out how everyone
knows how the seductress acts.
Quote, archetypes create an instant recognition in the minds of the reader so they can seamlessly
(05:25):
escape into the story world.
End quote.
Ken, how would you make characters who are not like you?
Well, you've already said a lot of my thoughts, but honestly, we could do a whole episode
on this question.
But one way I would recommend is basing the characters off of people that you know, like
you said.
A lot of people in your life will be very distinct from you, so using an existing person
(05:48):
as a sort of framework can be very helpful for setting a character apart from you.
Another thing that could be helpful for making characters unlike you is to go people watching.
Find a nice place like a coffee shop or a library and just observe people.
See if you can understand their personality, observe their mannerisms, and what makes them
look different.
You will get lots of inspiration for unique characters that aren't you from that activity.
(06:12):
That is a great idea, and often characters can look like your family members, and this
is a great idea to expand past that.
A key way to make a character's personality unique is by giving him a clear voice.
In another episode, we'll be talking about dialogue, but for right now, every character
(06:32):
should have traits, both good and bad.
Becky Poulgis had another great suggestion in her post, How to Create Characters That
Have Fantasized, to, quote, show your character's individuality by providing contrast, end quote.
In a story about one boy facing the odds in Ayn Rand's Anthem, the main character is just
(06:56):
one hair off, and that individuality ends up setting off this whole reaction.
In Anthem, we see this rigorous, firm set society, and then because the protagonist has this
very distinct personality, just by contrasting the two.
If you look at Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series, you see a really good example of unique
(07:20):
characters as a team facing off the bad guy.
In Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, it's also a really interesting example of people all living
under this umbrella of medieval England.
Each character is unique by their social level and their standing, but they all talk, speak,
and move differently.
(07:41):
We move on to specifics of how to make personality and physical traits unique right after a short
break.
Ken, how does one make a character's personality unique?
As you kind of already mentioned, the Myers-Briggs personality types are a great resource.
(08:05):
In fact, 16personalities.com has huge bios on the personality types.
But even those 16 personalities can be a little bit narrow, so another thing that I would
recommend for making unique personalities is giving them quirks.
Maybe it could be something like not trying, I like having things handed to them, or maybe
(08:25):
it could be that they don't like loud noises.
Making distinct personality quirks can really help make a character and their personality
seem more unique.
That is true, like they could have a phobia of feet.
Switching more over to the physical side.
Quote, when a character says or doesn't say, often can identify much of what and who they
(08:47):
are, end quote.
Which we've kind of talked a little bit about this earlier.
And a key part of what a character doesn't say is what they look like, how they walk,
the tone.
In Robert Louis Stevenson's book Treasure Island, Jim is told to beware the one-legged
pirate.
And then he meets this one-legged shipmate.
(09:08):
A key way to make characters physically unique is to make them different.
Ken, how can I make my characters physically unique?
I already mentioned a few ways.
First of all, the face is a great place to start.
You can vary up eye color, wrinkles, bags under the eyes, nose shape, teeth quality,
(09:30):
ear size, hair length, and color, you name it.
There's a lot to work with in the face, and that's often what people mostly see.
And so it's a great thing to use when making people unique.
In fact, there is a character in one of my stories that has a very unique feature, purple
eyes.
Another way to make them unique is by giving them different body types.
(09:50):
Not everyone in your story should be the statuesque, perfect human specimen.
In fact, I would highly recommend that you do not have that.
People come in all shapes and sizes.
For example, just because a person is small doesn't mean they're weak.
Heck, some of the strongest people I know are a lot shorter than me.
One more thing, scars are another great way to distinguish characters.
They help tell the story of their past and can be really unique when done right.
(10:13):
This leads to the lazy man's question.
How unique should every character be?
As I was researching for this episode, I came upon this helpful tip from Screencraft.org
in writing unique voices.
It says, quote, reading the dialogue out loud is a key first step.
The important factor is to add a little emotion to the performance.
(10:35):
How do you want the character to say that line?
Is it written in a way that is distinctive?
Are the emotions evident within the dialogue?
Do the moments in the script before and after the dialogue build to and deliver on these
emotions?
And quote, the tip to read your character's voice reminded me of a sketch by JK Studios
where this character is reading his book out loud and every character has such a different
(10:59):
voice and facial expressions and I was laughing because it's relatable honestly.
And I think that the answer to this question, how unique should every character be, is unique
enough that a reader can tell the different voices and facial expressions.
Even in children's literature, like when you're reading to a child, you use a different voice
(11:20):
and you'll use a different facial expression.
And I feel like that is how unique your character should be.
How unique do you think every character should be?
Unique enough that they aren't interchangeable.
A lot of people run into the problem where their characters are all similar enough that
you could easily switch out their dialogue or actions.
(11:41):
You do not want that.
You want characters that are just unique enough that what they say and do would certainly
be unique to them.
Something that only they would say or do.
Exactly.
And we hope today's episode was helpful.
If you like our podcast, please share it with your friends and family.
For sources in the transcript, visit writersworldpodcast.weebly.com.
(12:05):
And our Instagram is at writersworldpodcastofficial.
Our Patreon is patreon.com slash writersworldpodcast.
And if you want your questions answered, our email is writersworldpodcastatgmail.com.
Until next time, I've been Ken Mears.
And I've been Melissa Fales with Writers World.
And keep on writing.
On Wednesdays we wear pink, lions and tigers and bears.
(00:08):
Oh my, you ain't never had a friend like me.
My name is Ken Mears.
And I'm Melissa Fales.
Welcome to Writer's World.
(00:36):
The first question we want to address today is, how do I make each character unique?
From the Arts and Crafts of Storytelling, a comprehensive guide to classical writing
techniques, which is a mouthful, by Nancy Lamb, she says, quote, there are endless ways
to flesh out a character.
One way to create multiple dimensions in the person who inhabits the pages of your book
(01:01):
is to imagine a different aspect of that character's inner and outer life.
She points out some key aspects.
Body language.
How does your character carry themselves?
Does he stand up straight, make eye contact, have a limp handshake, walk as if defeated
with slumped shoulders, glide gracefully down hallways, trip and fall often?
(01:23):
Clothes.
How does your character dress?
Casual, trendy, sloppy, formal.
Does he take pride in his appearance?
Does he spend money on clothes?
Names.
Does your character have a nickname?
If so, what does that nickname reflect?
Her appearance, circumstance, personality, does she like or hate her nickname?
(01:45):
If she's married, did she take her spouse's name?
Dislikes.
What repulses and irritates your character?
Cool music, rude drivers.
When a character dislikes something, it is a really exciting element to me because there's
a lot that you can do with that.
What triggers them?
What switches their personality?
(02:06):
She goes on to say that identifying their home, shelter, family constellations, best
friends, interests, favorites, hobbies, and origins really help make your character unique.
So Ken, how does one make their character unique?
By making them quite simply human.
When we look at people around us, when we really see people for who they are, we see
(02:28):
that everyone is unique.
When it comes to constructing a character, I would suggest a few key things to include.
First of all, personality.
Personality includes everything from mannerisms to characteristics like how kind or smart
they are and their behaviors.
Make sure each personality is unique even if they are similar.
You can have multiple goofballs, but make something about their personalities distinct
(02:50):
enough that they don't blend perfectly together.
The next thing I would consider is a character's past.
There is lots of wiggle room in this one because everyone is guaranteed to have a unique past,
even if there are similar things in their backstories.
There will always have been different people, different events, and different scars a person
(03:10):
has.
And always remember, the past helps shape personality.
One more thing I would consider is how they look.
Having distinct visual differences can be very important.
One way is how their body looks.
Now I don't mean just having different hair and skin colors.
When making a unique body, there will be things that set them apart such as wrinkles, scars,
(03:31):
funny shape of their nose, etc.
You can also make sure that they dress quite uniquely.
And remember that how they dress may have a lot of factors including personality and
background.
Very true.
A common problem in writing is writing characters that are similar to you.
If someone is struggling to make their characters unique, I would recommend basing your characters
(03:55):
off of someone in your real life.
Another idea of writing characters outside yourself comes from Becky Bogast, who said
to quote, give your characters quirks.
What makes them a person and a character individual are their unique little habits and mannerisms.
(04:16):
It's usually best to choose a quirk that exemplifies and magnifies a trait of your
characters.
She continues that my dad, though a highly intelligent and rational human being, is a
complete conspiracy theorist.
Brandon Sanderson said in one of his lectures that limitations are more interesting than
(04:36):
powers.
Focusing on these quirks, wackiness, traits, limitations, and how they react to them is
how someone could write outside of themselves.
Another idea is to take a look at the 16 Meijer-Briggs personality types, which will be listed out
in the show notes.
The Meijer-Briggs personality test is a system of different characters.
(05:01):
You could pick out a personality and follow it using the Meijer-Briggs personality types
as a guide.
Also, you could write a typical archetype.
This idea came from the Writing Cooperation website, where they point out how everyone
knows how the seductress acts.
Quote, archetypes create an instant recognition in the minds of the reader so they can seamlessly
(05:25):
escape into the story world.
End quote.
Ken, how would you make characters who are not like you?
Well, you've already said a lot of my thoughts, but honestly, we could do a whole episode
on this question.
But one way I would recommend is basing the characters off of people that you know, like
you said.
A lot of people in your life will be very distinct from you, so using an existing person
(05:48):
as a sort of framework can be very helpful for setting a character apart from you.
Another thing that could be helpful for making characters unlike you is to go people watching.
Find a nice place like a coffee shop or a library and just observe people.
See if you can understand their personality, observe their mannerisms, and what makes them
look different.
You will get lots of inspiration for unique characters that aren't you from that activity.
(06:12):
That is a great idea, and often characters can look like your family members, and this
is a great idea to expand past that.
A key way to make a character's personality unique is by giving him a clear voice.
In another episode, we'll be talking about dialogue, but for right now, every character
(06:32):
should have traits, both good and bad.
Becky Poulgis had another great suggestion in her post, How to Create Characters That
Have Fantasized, to, quote, show your character's individuality by providing contrast, end quote.
In a story about one boy facing the odds in Ayn Rand's Anthem, the main character is just
(06:56):
one hair off, and that individuality ends up setting off this whole reaction.
In Anthem, we see this rigorous, firm set society, and then because the protagonist has this
very distinct personality, just by contrasting the two.
If you look at Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series, you see a really good example of unique
(07:20):
characters as a team facing off the bad guy.
In Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, it's also a really interesting example of people all living
under this umbrella of medieval England.
Each character is unique by their social level and their standing, but they all talk, speak,
and move differently.
(07:41):
We move on to specifics of how to make personality and physical traits unique right after a short
break.
Ken, how does one make a character's personality unique?
As you kind of already mentioned, the Myers-Briggs personality types are a great resource.
(08:05):
In fact, 16personalities.com has huge bios on the personality types.
But even those 16 personalities can be a little bit narrow, so another thing that I would
recommend for making unique personalities is giving them quirks.
Maybe it could be something like not trying, I like having things handed to them, or maybe
(08:25):
it could be that they don't like loud noises.
Making distinct personality quirks can really help make a character and their personality
seem more unique.
That is true, like they could have a phobia of feet.
Switching more over to the physical side.
Quote, when a character says or doesn't say, often can identify much of what and who they
(08:47):
are, end quote.
Which we've kind of talked a little bit about this earlier.
And a key part of what a character doesn't say is what they look like, how they walk,
the tone.
In Robert Louis Stevenson's book Treasure Island, Jim is told to beware the one-legged
pirate.
And then he meets this one-legged shipmate.
(09:08):
A key way to make characters physically unique is to make them different.
Ken, how can I make my characters physically unique?
I already mentioned a few ways.
First of all, the face is a great place to start.
You can vary up eye color, wrinkles, bags under the eyes, nose shape, teeth quality,
(09:30):
ear size, hair length, and color, you name it.
There's a lot to work with in the face, and that's often what people mostly see.
And so it's a great thing to use when making people unique.
In fact, there is a character in one of my stories that has a very unique feature, purple
eyes.
Another way to make them unique is by giving them different body types.
(09:50):
Not everyone in your story should be the statuesque, perfect human specimen.
In fact, I would highly recommend that you do not have that.
People come in all shapes and sizes.
For example, just because a person is small doesn't mean they're weak.
Heck, some of the strongest people I know are a lot shorter than me.
One more thing, scars are another great way to distinguish characters.
They help tell the story of their past and can be really unique when done right.
(10:13):
This leads to the lazy man's question.
How unique should every character be?
As I was researching for this episode, I came upon this helpful tip from Screencraft.org
in writing unique voices.
It says, quote, reading the dialogue out loud is a key first step.
The important factor is to add a little emotion to the performance.
(10:35):
How do you want the character to say that line?
Is it written in a way that is distinctive?
Are the emotions evident within the dialogue?
Do the moments in the script before and after the dialogue build to and deliver on these
emotions?
And quote, the tip to read your character's voice reminded me of a sketch by JK Studios
where this character is reading his book out loud and every character has such a different
(10:59):
voice and facial expressions and I was laughing because it's relatable honestly.
And I think that the answer to this question, how unique should every character be, is unique
enough that a reader can tell the different voices and facial expressions.
Even in children's literature, like when you're reading to a child, you use a different voice
(11:20):
and you'll use a different facial expression.
And I feel like that is how unique your character should be.
How unique do you think every character should be?
Unique enough that they aren't interchangeable.
A lot of people run into the problem where their characters are all similar enough that
you could easily switch out their dialogue or actions.
(11:41):
You do not want that.
You want characters that are just unique enough that what they say and do would certainly
be unique to them.
Something that only they would say or do.
Exactly.
And we hope today's episode was helpful.
If you like our podcast, please share it with your friends and family.
For sources in the transcript, visit writersworldpodcast.weebly.com.
(12:05):
And our Instagram is at writersworldpodcastofficial.
Our Patreon is patreon.com slash writersworldpodcast.
And if you want your questions answered, our email is writersworldpodcastatgmail.com.
Until next time, I've been Ken Mears.
And I've been Melissa Fales with Writers World.
And keep on writing.
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